Page 39 of Furever Bound
Through the café's windows, Sera could see Maddox approaching as he processed threat levels and tactical options. Even from a distance, their developing mate bond allowed her to sense his protective determination and barely controlled worry about her safety.
"He's planning something," she realized, reading body language that spoke of decisions made and consequences accepted.
"Alpha wolves always plan something when their mates are threatened," Twyla said with fond exasperation. "The trick ismaking sure his protective instincts don't override your agency in determining how to handle the situation."
"Agency that includes the right to make dangerous choices if those choices serve the greater good," Miriam added with the fierce pragmatism that made mountain communities so resilient.
Maddox entered the café with barely controlled energy that made Sera's pulse quicken with awareness of his supernatural nature. His piercing blue eyes held depths of concern and determination that proved their bond was affecting him as strongly as it affected her.
"How bad?" she asked without preamble, reading the tension in his shoulders.
"Federal agents have established surveillance on every community gathering place," he replied, settling beside her with protective proximity. "They're not just investigating—they're preparing for some kind of action tonight."
"Halloween night, Elena's timing this to coincide with peak supernatural activity."
“She probably heard what happened last Halloween here,” Twyal muttered as her, Maddox and Miriam shared knowing looks.
“What happened last year?”
“Well, we have this dreamwalker–” Twyla started but Maddox shook his head as if saying, ‘Now’s not the time’.
"Let’s focus on now. Elena is setting this up when your abilities will be most pronounced and Grimjaw's manifestation will be most substantial," he confirmed grimly. "Perfect conditions for federal documentation of psychic phenomena."
"Or perfect conditions for proving that supernatural abilities serve protection rather than destruction," she countered, meeting his worried gaze with determined resolve.
"Sera," he began with protective concern.
"We're doing this, Maddox," she interrupted with gentle finality. "Tonight, when the moon is full and the barriers are thin. We're going to show Elena and her federal colleagues that psychic gifts build communities rather than threaten them."
The way he looked at her when she said it, with pride and terror and possessive love in equal measure, proved that their mate bond transcended supernatural recognition to become something worth fighting for regardless of the personal cost.
Outside, the first snowflakes began to fall, dusting Hollow Oak's streets with pristine white that would make the town look like a winter fairytale by evening. Halloween snow was unusual but not unheard of in the mountains, and something about the peaceful beauty of it felt like blessing rather than omen.
29
MADDOX
The afternoon snow continued falling as Maddox led Sera through the forest paths toward a secluded clearing where he could show her aspects of his nature that required privacy and trust in equal measure. The federal surveillance made his study and home feel compromised, but the ancient woods offered sanctuary where supernatural revelations could unfold without bureaucratic observation.
"Where exactly are we going?" Sera asked, her boots crunching through the accumulating snow while her breath formed clouds in the increasingly cold air. "Because if this is about tactical planning for tonight, I should mention that Elena's agents probably have thermal imaging equipment."
"It's not about tactical planning," he replied, guiding her toward a grove where massive oaks created natural shelter from both weather and prying eyes. "It's about showing you what accepting the mate bond really means."
"Meaning?" She studied his profile with the perceptive attention that never failed to make his chest warm with appreciation for her intelligence.
"Meaning you've agreed to bond with a shapeshifter, but you've never actually seen my wolf form," he said, stopping in the center of the clearing where snow had created a pristine white carpet beneath the bare branches. "Before we face whatever tonight brings, you should understand exactly what you're choosing."
The gravity in his voice seemed to settle around them like the falling snow, and Sera's expression shifted from curiosity to something deeper as she processed the significance of what he was offering.
"You're going to shift," she said with wonder rather than fear. "Actually transform into a wolf."
"If you're ready to see it," he confirmed, though his protective instincts worried about her reaction to supernatural transformation that challenged every assumption about reality she'd learned in human society. "Shapeshifting can be overwhelming for humans who haven't experienced it before."
"I think I passed 'overwhelmed by supernatural reality' several crises ago," she said with humor that made him smile despite his nervousness. "Show me, Maddox. Show me all of who you are."
The simple trust in her voice gave him courage to begin the controlled shift that would reveal his animal nature completely. He stepped back to give her clear sightlines while his human consciousness prepared to share space with lupine instincts that viewed Sera as mate, territory, and treasure worth protecting at any cost.
"It's not painful," he explained as warmth began building beneath his skin. "More like... expanding. Becoming more rather than less."
